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Troy football still has eyes set on post-season play

It was a historic day for both teams Saturday in Oxford, Miss. as the Ole Miss Rebels defeated the Troy Trojans 51-21 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Troy quarterback Corey Robinson has amassed over 3,000 yards for the fourth season, becoming only the third quarterback in NCAA history to achieve that mark.

The three other names on that list include Oklahoma’s Landry Jones, Hawaii’s Timmy Chang and Boise State’s Kellen Moore.

Robinson’s final stats were 24-of-36 for 258 yards, but he did not put one in the end zone.

On the other side of the field, the Rebels’ offense put up record setting numbers finishing with 751 yards of offense, the most in school history.

“I did a poor job of getting them [the defense] ready,” defensive coordinator Wayne Bolt said. “I did a bad job coaching and they did a bad job playing. It was a two-fold deal against a good football team.”

That also marks the most yards the Trojans have given up once going Division-1, just edging the mark Tennessee put up on Troy last season.

The Rebels were balanced in their attack with 382 yards on the ground and 369 passing yards.

The leading rusher was quarterback Bo Wallace who rushed for 66 yards and a score, while also leading the team in passing finishing 17-of-26 for 272 yards and three touchdowns.

For the Trojan offense, there was no balance.

Troy finished with minus-13 yards rushing, in large part to three sacks.

The Trojans only put seven points on the board through the first three quarters and gave up 37 unanswered at one point.

The loss drops the Trojans to 5-6 with one final chance to reach bowl eligibility.

The team does have a week off before having to take the field against the Texas State Bobcats and that bye week will be important.

“It’s going to be good to get off your feet a little while,” running back Brandon Burks said. “This bye week we don’t practice that long, but it’s more of a mental practice this week.”

Texas State is 6-4 entering the weekend with Western Kentucky still remaining on the schedule before the regular season finale against the Trojans.

“It’s another great challenge,” Bolt said. “But the most important thing is to get bowl eligible and go to a bowl. game.”

The last time the Trojans were bowl eligible was in 2010 when they beat Ohio in the New Orleans Bowl.

Though most of the players on the team have not experienced a bowl game, head coach Larry Blakeney is hoping there is chatter about the possibility of going bowling.

“I hope they’re talking about it, especially if it’s motivational,” Blakeney said. “It won’t matter how much we talk. It matters how much we prepare, how hard we play, and how well we play.

The Trojans will return to action on Friday, November 29th against Texas State with a 1:00 kickoff at Veterans Memorial Stadium